A trans-Atlantic collaboration of scientists has revealed the structure of a key protein of silk and discovered a previously unknown behavior of this protein: to self-organize into tiny fibrils a single molecule in diameter.

Like most inventors, Jefferson Lab scientist Xin Zhao's moment of inspiration was prompted by a need, and the result was an invention that could someday see batteries in electric vehicles and similar devices boosted or replaced by high-power, high-capacity, fast-charge/discharge energy storage systems using graphene.

The William & Mary group is part of a new industry-academia-government collaboration, the Virginia Nanoelectronics Center (ViNC). ViNC is based at the University of Virginia; the partnership also includes Old Dominion University.